Survivor: Nicaragua

[Maxim Oleksyn]

It seems like we just crowned a winner of "Survivor" - Fayetteville resident Sandra Diaz-Twine. Well,  folks, get ready for a new season of manipulation in the wilderness. And yet again, we have a   contestant with ties to the Cape Fear region. Jane Hammett-Bright is a dog trainer and breeder who  lives in the Moore County town of Jackson Springs. She's feisty and competitive, and she's not  letting  the fact that she's the oldest female castaway deter her from playing the game hard. She told me in a  pre-show interview that she's used to the elements, running around and dealing with different  personalities. At least that's what it's like in the world of dog shows. This season's twists feature tribes  divided by age and a "medallion of power." The medallion, as you would imagine, is something teams  will fight for to get an edge in immunity challenges. 8 p.m. CBS Wednesdays

The Espada tribe (over 40s) and the La Flor tribe (under 30s) will compete:

ESPADA TRIBE
Jill Behm, Age: 43
Occupation: ER Doctor
Current Residence: Erie, Penn.

Jane Bright, Age: 56
Occupation: Dog Trainer
Current Residence: Jackson Spring, N.C.

Tyrone Davis Age: 42
Occupation: Fire Captain
Current Residence: Inglewood, Calif.

Wendy DeSmidt-Kohlhoff, Age: 48
Occupation: Goat Rancher/Retired Army Officer
Current Residence: Fromberg, Mont.

Holly Hoffman, Age: 44
Occupation: Swim Coach
Current Residence: Eureka, S.D.

Jimmy Johnson, Age: 67
Occupation: TV Sports Broadcaster/Former Football Coach
Current Residence: Islamorada, Fla

Dan Lembo, Age: 63
Occupation: Real Estate Executive
Current Residence: Water Mill, N.Y.

Marty Piombo, Age: 48
Occupation: Technology Executive
Current Residence: Mill Valley, Calif.

Yve Rojas, Age: 41
Occupation: Homemaker
Current Residence: Kansas City, Mo.

Jimmy Tarantino, Age: 48
Occupation: Commercial Fisherman
Current Residence: Gloucester, Mass.

LA FLOR TRIBE
Judson Birza, Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Current Residence: Venice, Calif.

Kelly Bruno, Age: 26
Occupation: Medical Student
Current Residence: Durham, N.C.

Shannon Elkins, Age: 30
Occupation: Pest Control Co. Owner
Current Residence: Lafayette, La.

Ben "Benry" Henry, Age: 24
Occupation: Club Promoter
Current residence: Los Angeles, Calif.

Matthew "Sash" Lenaham, Age: 30
Occupation: Real Estate Broker
Current Residence: New York, N.Y.

Brenda Lowe, Age: 27
Occupation: Paddleboard Co. Owner/Ex-NFL Cheerleader
Current Residence: Miami, Fla.

NaOnka Mixon, Age: 27
Occupation: Physical Education Teacher
Current Residence: Los Angeles, Calif.

Chase Rice, Age: 24
Occupation:  Pro Race Car Jackman/Singer
Current Residence: Charlotte, N.C.

Kelly Shinn, Age: 20
Occupation: Nursing Student
Current Residence: Mesa, Ariz.

Alina Wilson, Age: 23
Occupation: Art Student
Current residence: Downey, Calif

[Horace]

The very first thing I noticed was the jealousy that Marty and Jimmy T have for Coach Jimmy. The younger guys would have loved to hang out with one of the greatest football legends of all time because they weren’t threatened. Marty was threatened. Immediately. Curious how our egos work. If I was in the game, maybe I would have felt the same way, who knows. But right now Marty and Jimmy T seem more concerned with Jimmy Johnson than they do anything else. That is not a good sign for the older group.

[Zen Elipsys]

MARTY is a villain. He won’t see it that way, but right out of the gate, he is a villain.

[Smokey]

FABIO is perhaps my favorite. I am a huge fan of Fast Times At Ridgemont High and Fabio is Survivor’s version of Jeff Spicoli who was played beautifully by Sean Penn. If you have never seen that movie, it’s worth a watch. Hilarious. Whether it’s the massive splinter he got in his arch moments into the show or the pincher on the finger, he’s funny. Best of all, he seems to have a really good sense of humor about himself. You gotta like that!!!

Already don't like Shannon.

[Eva]

I totally agree about Shannon! But, did you miss the part after he said "we already get owned in marriage" when he also said "we're going to have a female president soon". As if men will suddenly stop being men as soon as a woman fills the Presidency. Unreal. I really wanted to like him....but now I don't.

[Tessa Noel]

Maybe Shannon doesn't want to share anything with women because he's bitter he has to share his name with them. Just sayin'.

I'm not understanding Jimmy Johnson... The guy tries out a few times, just to be on the show, with no intention of winning; just coaching the other players. What's up with that? How many football players did you let play on your team(s) that just wanted to have an adventure of being in the NFL but had no intention of winning. None. And for a reason. You could have come in to play to win and announce you would give the winnings away to a charity. You're a tough football coach and yet in the first day you are actually complaining out loud about how tough it is. I didn't hear anyone else complaining. Again if one of your football players had been complaining about how tough the practice was the first day they were there you would have been all over their case about what a wuss they are. I don't even want to see how you'd be struggling after a week or two, less a full month.

Blurred crotches - It actually made me look for the split seconds that they didn't get the blur over the crotch quite right just to see what all the fuss was about. (not much by the way). I hope the older tribe saves the Medallion of Velveeta for the last challenge before the merge. That way they at least get one up on the other tribe without giving them an advantage with the medallion the next week.

[LunaDonna]

I hope Jimmy Johnson stays around for awhile. He's a good "character", and I'd MUCH rather see some of the other contestants booted before him (i.e. Jimmy T....).

[Sistah Sixx]

One of the most underwhelming season openers. Challenge - lame. Medallion of power - lame - Random clue findings - lame. Jimmy J (not impressed). Regrouping the tribes for effect - lame. Survivors meandering onto the beach to start off - seriously lame. Overall stupidity of both tribes - geez. Hope it gets better because I LOVE Survivor.

[Hotrod]

Is it just me or is that the new immunity idle an ode to Russel from the producers for not winning? Has a hat, gnome sized and golden. Dalton if you are renaming stuff how about the idle too...Golden Russel Gnome...who would have totally buried the artificial leg if it got left on its own at night!!

[Maxim Oleksyn]

Shannon lit into Chase for betraying their alliance, and then accused Sash and all of New York City of being gay (???), the southern anti-gentleman was kicked to the curb. The entire Tribal Council was an emotional and somewhat bizarre display (especially for a tribe’s first ever trip there), and it appeared to be stressing poor Fabio out very much. And Fabio had other problems as well, being repeatedly called out by NaOnka for…well, I’m not quite sure what. (Apparently he “looked” at her. Or something.) By the time the discussion was over, contestants were actually begging Jeff Probst to just get to the voting — another first.

But the youngins weren’t the only ones going crazy. Take Holly from Espada. PLEASE! The woman went from dumping out perfectly good food, to filling up Dan’s $1600 shoes with sand and sinking them, to then — in her most insane move of the evening — telling everyone about how she ruined Dan’s shoes. (At that point why not just retrieve the shoes and whack yourself on the head with them repeatedly?) WTF?

[Assassin]

I would add to the crazy list, Dan. Who in their right mind would bring $1,600 shoes to play Survivor?

[WS]

My thoughts exactly, Assassin! And Shannon's outburst about being a "grown up" and belonging on the other team!! Oh my gosh, I've never seen a more babyish claim to maturity. He's been married for 11 years and so he should be counted as being 41! Good grief! Not only homophobic but evidently gynophobic too!

[Zen Elipsys]

This season is shaping up to be a very good one. Jimmy J is one of my all-time favorite contestants at this point, and it is only Day 6! He probably won’t win, but the longer he manages to stay, the better it will be for this season.
Tyrone is hilarious. “I’m gonna keep one eye on her and one eye on my shoes”. His facial expressions alone make him a riot.